The Colorful Cookie Conundrum...

As you probably know, artificial dyes have had quite a place in the news lately for a few of their more common side effects, most notably increasing hyperactivity in children.  Even before all the latest findings I avoided artificial stuff, but now they are officially banned in my house.  Well, with Easter coming up and spring in the air, I want some fun colored goodies.  Sounds like it’s time for a little experiment.  Using nothing but things created by Mother Nature, herself, I set off to create a recipe for beautiful, and tasty, cookies. 

First things first, we have to get the juicing out of the way.  I’ve chosen to use red beet, yellow beet, carrot, and spinach. 

No, this is not my attempt to make healthy cookies.  I promise they won’t taste like vegetables by the time we’ve finished.

Ok, juicing… I happen to have a really awesome juicer, which definitely helps for this process.  In goes veggies, out comes very brightly colored juice. 

Chop your vegetables so they’ll fit through the chute.  Notice I’m using my ugly, old, black cutting board?  That’s because these things will stain.  Be careful not to get them on your clothes, especially.  Unfortunately, you will have to wash the juicer between each to prevent a mixture of colors, but it’s worth it. 

See how pretty?

Now, set those aside and we’ll start on the cookie dough.  Since you can’t divide an egg into four equal parts very easily, I think it best to make a cookie dough ‘starter’, if you will, and then divide that.  Here’s what you’ll need for the cookie dough. 

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 ⅓ cups sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon distilled vinegar
2 ⅔ - 3 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
(If this recipe looks familiar, it’s because I used the same dough for my Valentine’s Day Cookies.) 

In a mixing bowl, whip your butter until it’s soft and fluffy.

Add the sugar and whip for another minute or so. 

Mix in the vanilla, salt, and vinegar, followed by the baking powder and soda.  Finally, add the egg and mix until completely incorporated.

Separate the batter into four ½ cup portions, and return one of them to the mixing bowl. 

Here’s where you have to get a bit creative.  I decided that I would not only add different colors to each portion, but different flavors as well.  Now is when you’ll want to add those as well.  This is how it went for me:

Green – 1 ½ teaspoons spinach juice and ½ teaspoon almond flavor

Yellow – 3 teaspoons yellow beet juice, ½ teaspoon lemon flavor, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Orange – 3 teaspoons carrot juice, ½ teaspoon flavor, and 1 teaspoon orange zest

Pink/purple – 1 teaspoon red beet juice and ½ teaspoon vanilla (oops, no vanilla picture)

Yes, I am aware that they sell natural food coloring, similar to the flavorings I’m using there, but what fun would that be? 

Now, add your desired color and flavor combination to the mixing bowl. 

When it’s mixed in, it should look something like this.

Not sure why I didn’t take two pictures with the same color, but you get the idea. 

Next comes the flour.  Start by stirring in ⅔ of a cup.  That should get you pretty close, but in the yellow and the orange, I had to add another tablespoon.  You’re going for a soft, play dough like consistency.  If it’s still sticky, add flour, one tablespoon at a time until it just loses that stickiness.  When you’ve finished with all your different colors, it’ll even look like you’re playing with play dough.  How cute is that?

Here’s a good place to preheat your oven to 350°. 

Now, roll the dough into balls about the size of a quarter and drop them into a little bowl of sugar. 

Shake them around until they’re coated all the way around and then place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving about two inches between them. (I had to put mine closer together for the picture.  Leave more space than this) 

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. 

Not sure why the top right one went a little wonky.  I did mention this was an experiment, didn't I?  The ones that came after these were all perfectly beautiful. 

Cool them for a minute or two on the pan, and then remove to a cooling rack.  When they’re all baked and cooled, taste one of each flavor (yes, I just told you to eat four cookies) and marvel at how good they are!  Then take a picture of the results of all your hard work and show all your friends how talented you are and brag about how you only used vegetable juice to make such beautiful, fun cookies.  (I may or may not have done this) 

Last, but not least, pack the majority of them into a container and send them to work with your husband so you don’t sit around and eat every last one. 

Now, I realize not everyone has a juicer on hand, and I don’t really expect a large number of people to follow this recipe to the letter.  My intent, rather, is to get your creative ‘juices’ flowing, to get you to think outside of the box and look for a more natural alternative to artificial dyes.  I've shown you the things I used in mine, but if you don’t have a juicer, you could probably try blood oranges, or even bottled juice like pomegranate or carrot.  Have fun with it!  That’s what baking is supposed to be about.  

Sloppy Jose! Olé!

No, that’s not a typo.  These are Sloppy Joes with a Mexican twist.  They’re simple and only take a few ingredients, but they taste fabulous.  On a night when I’ve been busy all day and want to just throw something together in half an hour, this is one of my go to meals. 

We’ll Keep this short and sweet and get right to it.  This recipe makes enough for about three sandwiches.  My husband and I usually each eat one for dinner, and then one of us will use the leftovers for lunch the next day.  You can easily adjust the amounts up or down depending on how many you are feeding. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

½ pound ground turkey breast
½ medium onion, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup good salsa
1 cup cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

You’ll notice that there is no bell pepper in my process.  My grocery store didn’t have one worth buying that day, so I just went without.  It really is better with it, though, so if you can get one, put it in. 

Add the oil to your pan over medium heat.  When it’s hot, throw in the onion and bell pepper and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt.

Stir them around for about a minute and add your turkey. 

Start chopping it into pieces and sprinkle it with chili powder. 

Continue chopping and stirring until it looks something like this.

Add the salsa.  As usual, I like to use homemade.  If you use store bought, remember, the salsa is where all the flavor comes from.  Splurge and go for something good. 

Stir it all together.  Starting to look pretty tasty, huh? 

Cover it and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.  Don’t skip the simmering.  See what happens during that time?

Stir it again and turn off the heat.  Throw in the cheese. 

I used a half cup of a pre-grated mix and a half cup of extra sharp cheddar.  It’s best to use a mix of some kind.

Stir it all together.  Did I mention I really like cheese? 

Cover it and let’s start on the buns.  I like to use the ciabatta buns that my grocery store makes.  You want something slightly crusty so that it will stand up to the filling, but soft enough to easily bite.  All those air pockets in ciabatta are helpful, as well. 

Scoop the filling onto the bun. 

Drooling yet? 

I like to serve them with just potato chips, but you could always add a pickle spear, potato salad, or whatever other side item you like. 

Try my Sloppy Joses and let me know what you think.  You’ll never want to go back to canwich again.